Police in the Indian city of Kanpur have arrested a leader of the Hindu nationalist ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for making anti-Muslim comments on social media.
Police arrested young BJP leader Harshat Srivastava on Wednesday, according to the British news agency Reuters. Are protesting against
"We have arrested a local politician for making provocative remarks against Muslims," said Prashant Kumar, a police official.
He added that another 50 people had been detained in Kanpur amid tensions between Muslims and Hindus.
According to Reuters, the lawyers of the arrested local politician Sri Vastu were not available for comment.
It is to be noted that protests and demonstrations are going on in different parts of the country after BJP spokesperson Nopur Sharma made derogatory remarks about the Prophet of Islam during a TV debate.
According to the BJP, Nopur Sharma has been suspended from the party post following these comments, while another spokesperson Naveen Kumar Jundal has been expelled from the party for making anti-Muslim remarks.
Following the incident, Muslim countries, particularly Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan, have demanded an apology from the Indian government.
The countries also summoned Indian ambassadors to protest against anti-Muslim remarks.
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) said in a statement that the insulting remarks came at a time when anti-Muslim hatred has intensified in India and Muslims face systematic harassment.
India's foreign ministry said in a statement on Monday that "these objectionable tweets and comments do not in any way reflect the views of the government."
The reaction in the Muslim world after the incident has posed a diplomatic challenge to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he seeks to forge stronger ties with energy-rich Islamic countries.
